Doctors Say Yes To Health Reform, No To Repeal
Thousands of Physicians and Medical Students Show Their Support for Health Reform
WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, January 6, over 2,000 physicians and medical students across the country voiced their support for health care reform by signing a petition urging the new leaders in the 112th Congress to strengthen and not repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Physicians and medical students hand delivered a petition to the district offices of incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA). The petition expressed support for important provisions of the health care reform law including barring discrimination against children with pre-existing conditions, extending coverage to young people who stay on their parents insurance until age 26, and banning insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Additionally, new provisions that took effect January 1st, 2011, will help seniors struggling with prescription drug costs, increase the number of primary care providers, and requires insurers to spend more of their customer’s premiums on the customers themselves.
“As doctors, we see how our broken health care system is failing patients and health care providers. Passing and implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is an important first step to fixing a broken system, and we must continue to move forward” said Dr. Vivek Murthy, President of Doctors for America. “Repealing the health care reform law will only move our health care system backward – and millions of patients simply can’t afford that. We urge the new Congress to work with patients and providers to improve the health reform law so we can build a health care system that works for everyone.”
Dr. Chris Lillis, Internal Medicine Physician and Virginia State Director for Doctors for America, was on hand to deliver the petition to Representative Cantor’s office. “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will cover 32 million more Americans that otherwise would have fallen through the cracks of our health care system,” said Dr. Chris Lillis. “It takes the biggest steps in history to improve quality and reduce the cost of health care. It protects our children, our seniors and our sickest patients from the past abuses of the insurance industry.”
Doctors for America is a grassroots group of over 15,000 physicians with a presence in all fifty states fighting for a system in which every American has equal access to quality healthcare. We envision a fair, effective and affordable healthcare system — one fundamentally transformed and guided by the core values of doctors and their patients.
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For more information about Doctors for America, please go to our Web site at: www.drsforamerica.org
